Tag Archives: John Lucas III

Among other accomplishments during his two years as Team China head coach, Bob Donewald Jr. brought home the country’s first Asia Championship since 2005. (Photo: FIBAasia.net)

To the surprise of absolutely no one, Bob Donewald Jr., whose contract in Beijing has now expired, will not be returning to coach Chinese National Team. In a highly eventful three years, the last two of which have been spent as Team China head coach, there’s been suspensions, championships, a documentary, brawls, more suspensions, sideline yelling matches, and a you-couldn’t-make-this-stuff-up crazy half-season in Xinjiang among other notable events. Whatever your opinion of his tenure is, we’re fairly confident that all would agree that his stay in China has been anything but boring.

Of course, the Donewald era is much more than that. The question is: What? What exactly has happened over the last three years? What impact has he made on Chinese basketball? And what is his lasting legacy?

“It’s not the way we wanted to end it. But I think we laid the groundwork in the right way,” Donewald said. “We’ve changed some things, we’ve changed some training, we’ve brought ideas, we’ve changed the way we play a little bit. And hopefully they can take it and go from here. … I hope 10 years from now I look back and China’s back on the map and we helped bridge something, we helped do something.”

The full article is well worth the read, not just because Donewald has a lot more interesting things to say, but also because Wang Zhizhi steals the show with a couple of priceless quotes, the best being his initial response in 2010 to Donewald’s defense-first mindset: “This is China. We don’t play defense.”

Critics will obviously point to the recent failure at the Olympics as their perceived reflection of Donewald’s failure to put together and lead a Chinese team capable of winning on the world’s biggest stage. Our views on what went down in London are already well known. But whereas some will want to rate the overall Donewald purely based on an 0-5 record, we’re going to take a few steps back and improve our court vision to assess what’s really gone down the last three years.

1. The turnaround in Shanghai

Known virtually by everyone around the world as the franchise who produced Yao Ming, the Shanghai Sharks were once one of the proudest and most winningest franchise in the Chinese Basketball Association. But, in 2009 — seven years removed from their first and only championship under Yao — the team’s gradual descent into the depths of the league standings hit its lowest point. In last place with 6-44 record and a financial situation that bordered on bankruptcy, the Sharks weren’t just the dregs of the league, they were on the verge of complete extinction.

A savior came from a familiar face, Big Yao himself, who bought his old team in the summer of 2009 to ensure the franchise’s financial future while simultaneously injecting a much needed dose of optimism into the City on the Sea. Shunning the bureaucratic state-run-styled ownership that nearly put the franchise out of the CBA, Yao vowed to change the entire structure and culture in Shanghai.

That first wave of change came in the form of a new head coach, Donewald. A former NBA assistant in the early 2000s with Cleveland and New Orleans and a successful coach in England in the late 1990s, Donewald had been in Brazil and Ukraine prior to his arrival at the Yuanshen stadium. Unknown virtually by all in Chinese circles, Donewald proved to be the perfect catalyst in Shanghai. With a no compromise attitude, Donewald uprooted practically everything in Sharks-land and brought accountability, professionalism and intensity into a team that was sorely lacking in all three of those departments the previous season.

Under the first year head coach, a reinvigorated Chinese roster teamed up with three excellent imports, John Lucas III, Garet Siler and Zaid Abbas, to finish with the league’s fourth best record before nearly upsetting eventual league champion, Guangdong, in the semi-finals. Impressed by Donewald’s success, the powers that be at the CBA appointed him as head coach of the National Team in April 2010.

That magical season went beyond just himself, though. Lucas and Siler, both of whom were passed over by NBA teams when they came out of college, signed on to play in The League in 2010 with Chicago and Phoenix respectively. Both played this last season for the same teams. Abbas has gone on to star for the Jordanian National Team during the summers and during winters, he’s been busy leading Beijing and Fujian to the playoffs. “Max” Zhang Zhaoxu, who left Cal-Berkeley early to join Donewald in Shanghai in 2010, is now part of the National Team setup.

And though Donewald left in the summer of 2011 for Urumqi, the changes he made in Shanghai can still be felt today as Dan Panaggio continues to build on top of the foundation he first set in 2009.

Yet, perhaps Donewald’s biggest impact on a player was not on an American, but on a Chinese player with deep ties not only to Chinese basketball, but to Yao Ming as well…

2. The resurrection of Liu Wei

The 2008-09 season was long for everyone in Shanghai. But it was their star player, Liu Wei, who perhaps endured the longest and most nightmarish season of them all. Known for his ultra-competitiveness, the raging fire that burned under the longtime National Team point guard smoldered into mere ambers as Liu was forced to deal with not only the worst finish in Shanghai history, but also several nagging injuries, an ugly post-game incident with Yunnan import, Gabe Muoneke, and the 10-game suspension that followed it. His play suffered, and his 15.6 points per game was the worst statistical output since 2001-02. Once a CBA champion and NBA training camp invitee, things got so bad for Liu that he was rumored to be off to Bayi in the following off-season.

Enter Yao, Donewald, and his American staff, all of whom made it a focus to get their point guard back on track for 2009-10. Brought back to health through the dedication of strength and conditioning coach, James Scott, formerly of the Houston Rockets, Liu found his old self again as Shanghai ripped off a regular season 25-7 record. His 21.3 points per game was the third highest output of his career, and individual success carried through to the next season where he averaged 18.6 a game.

Liu’s resurgence has had implications far beyond just Shanghai, however. If you think prolonging the career of the only point guard in China who is consistently capable of playing on an international level, we ask: Have you seen any alternatives at that position?

Neither have we.

3. The transformation of Yi Jianlian

Once appointed head coach of the NT, the job presented to Donewald was to oversee a changing-in-the-guard from the old Yao Ming era to a new decade of Chinese basketball. Not exactly an easy task.

Without an all-world center who could dominate at both ends, Donewald trashed the rely-on-one-player philosophy in favor of a more balanced defensive-oriented, blue-collar approach. But all teams need a guy to dump the ball into on offense and get buckets… and that’s where Yi Jianlian comes into the story.

Under the shadow of the Yao in the 2000s, a then-young Yi played tentatively and inconsistently for China. But since Donewald arrived in 2010, Yi has been a completely different player. Given the task of being The Guy for the Chinese, the seven footer has responded beautifully over the last two international seasons. At the 2010 FIBA World Championship, Yi was the only player in the tournament to average 20 points and 10 rebounds. The following summer at the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship, he won tournament MVP (16.6-10.2) as he led China to a championship over Jordan. And though China flopped miserably in London, Yi managed to lead all players in rebounds (10.2 a game), while putting up strong individual performances against Spain and Russia before an injury suffered against Australia hampered him for the rest of the Games.

No, he’s not Yao. But in the post-Yao era, Yi is unquestionably the best and most important player to the Chinese. He has consistently been at the top of his game when China has need him the most. The player deserves much credit for accepting that challenge, but he — and the CBA — will have to thank Donewald, first for believing in him, then for giving him the support to make the Yao-to-Yi transition a success.

4. The modernization of the National Team

What the CBA chooses to do in light of these Olympics (changing the import rules in their domstic league, increasing the amount of games, hiring a new coach, implementing a new national daily regimen of three-man weave drills) is anybody’s guess.

Our two cents: They’d be wise to continue in the direction that Donewald and his staff has pointed them in.

Whether it’s been compiling thick tomes detailing every in-and-out of their opponents, meticulously breaking down film, implementing individualized strength and conditioning programs for each player or successfully appealing to the CBA to allow the coaching staff to pick their own players, Donewald has managed to do away with the old days of mindless 6-8 hour-a-day practices and two-hour team meetings. All of which are very positive for Chinese basketball, by the way. The days of 30 exhibition games in the summer? Maybe not. But, one step at a time.

If Chinese basketball is going to catch up to the rest of the world one day, they’ll have to eventually run their program accordingly. Again, whether the CBA decides to take a knee-jerk reaction to what’s gone down in London is anybody’s guess. Yet what Donewald’s been able to do — and teach — to people inside Chinese hoops about the modern requirements for developing a National Team should certainly be beneficial in the long-term for both the country and the next coach who replaces him. You know, if the CBA allows it…

5. The trophies

Lost in all of the Deng Hua de bu xing (Donewald sucks), Deng Hua De de zhan shu bu hao (Donewald’s X’s and O’s aren’t good) and Deng Hua De bu dong Zhongguo (Donewald doesn’t understand China) arguments that I’ve heard from Chinese over the last couple of weeks, is the simple fact that no matter what you think of the guy, he’s won when he was supposed to win. Every time.

And if you don’t think that getting cheng ji – results — in Chinese sports are important, you haven’t seen this yet.

Make no mistake: Donewald’s gotten results. First came a championship at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, beating Iran in a thrilling semi-finals before dispatching South Korea in the finals. Not exactly a huge deal, since China had one five out of the last six gold medals at the Asian Games, but still a championship nonetheless in a competition that demanded no other result.

The following year in Wuhan, however, was something totally different. Despite playing without two key players, Zhou Peng and Wang Shipeng, both of whom were injury casualties of an endless summer of warm-up games, Donewald and the squad managed to come back in the second half against Jordan in the finals to eek out a win and an automatic berth in the 2012 London Olympics.

Whereas Guangzhou was pretty much always in the cards, triumphing in Wuhan was anything but guaranteed. Some people, including this very space, doubted China’s chances of getting to London because of prior history and a less-than-full-strength roster. On top of proving people wrong, Wuhan represented something far greater: China’s first Asian title since 2005 and more importantly, the first in the post-Yao era, an accomplishment Donewald’s predecessor, Guo Shiqiang, could not get done in 2009.

Was Donewald’s China journey always a smooth ride? Hardly. But at the end of everything, Donewald can go out with a title that nobody in China can take away from him: A winner. We’ll see in 10 years if we can call him a pioneer, too.

Recently, NiuBBall put up an open call for new writers with a passion for Chinese hoops. Fortunately for us and everyone else, someone answered that call. World, meet Leon Zhang. Originally from the Bay Area, Leon moved to Shanghai almost seven years ago where he’s been studying and living ever since. He’s a self-professed hoops addict who’s been devoutly playing since he first learned how to dribble as a wee lad and will be teaming up with Sharks enthusiast and NiuBBall contributor, Andrew Crawford, to give us the what’s what down in Shanghai. Which means we need to find someone up here in Beijing so we can get a game of two-on-two…

Leon’s first piece will be one of several in a series that profiles China’s key players as the team gets ready for the 2012 London Olympics.

As the Chinese men’s basketball team enters the last stage of preparation for the 2012 London Olympics, it is a sad fact that there are not many definitive profiles of these players, let alone ones in the English language. In this light, let us present you a series dedicated to giving a backstory to the players that will no doubt shine on the world’s biggest stage. We’ll start with Liu Wei, the captain of the team and veteran starting point guard.

Liu Wei was a relative latecomer to the game of basketball. As a young child in Shanghai, he was perceived as fat, but his height was too much for the youth coaches to ignore, entering the Luwan District sports school at the age of 12. Training alongside his best friend, a fellow by the name of Yao Ming, he quickly shot up the ranks, playing for the Shanghai Sharks and Chinese junior team in 1996. Liu was a highly valued prospect, expanding his game with various experiences like a visit to the US to attend a Nike summer camp and play for an AAU team. The future national team guard went through tough times in America, recalling that he “couldn’t get enough to eat. Our expenses were limited and there were three days when we ate lunch and dinner combined.”

All this paid off when, at the age of 22, Liu was selected to play for the National Team, undoubtedly a great honor. He became a cornerstone of the Shanghai Sharks professional team, and with Yao broke the years-long hegemony that Bayi had had on the CBA playoffs with a championship in 2002. The year 2004 was an exciting time for him, as he earned the starting point guard position on the national team, and was able to play for the Sacaramento Kings in the preseason. Liu and Yao together brought pride to many of their countrymen as the “NBA China Games,” which pitted Liu’s Kings against Yao’s Rockets, a first in the NBA for any two Chinese players. Though Liu generated some hype (assistant coach Elston Turner called him an “our best passer in training camp”), he was unable to make much of an impact, recording just two points and four rebounds in three games.

Though his role continued to expand for both club and country, recording 8.5 points and 1.6 assists in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, things went south as the Sharks’ decline, which started with the departure of Yao Ming, became more and more evident before the team — and Liu — eventually the team hit rock bottom in 2008.

On the verge of bankruptcy, Shanghai stripped its roster and became committed to rebuilding. In turn, the Sharks’ record took a huge dive and Liu’s apparent frustration with losing boiled over when, on November 28th, he attacked American Gabe Muoneke of the Yunnan Running Bulls outside the locker room inside Yuanshen Stadium. Along with several of his teammates, Liu chased, cornered and hit Muoneke. The incident as caught on stadium security cameras, and Liu paid a hefty fine and served a 10-game suspension. Shanghai finished the season in last place with a 6-44 record.

But in the off-season, the Sharks got the assist they needed when Yao Ming reentered the Shanghai Sharks, this time as an owner. With the team having been saved from going bankrupt, the team went forward with a number of changes designed to bring the Sharks back to respectability. Bob Donewald Jr., hired in the summer of 2009, brought an entertaining run-and-gun style to the Sharks, and along with a revitalized Liu in combination with American import John Lucas III, the trio brought Shanghai an unexpected fourth-place regular finish and a semi-finals berth.

These days, Liu plays in the triangle system of Coach Dan Panaggio, serving a key role as a facilitator and scorer, and also remains as an indispensable cog under Donewald in the National Team. The combo guard brings to Team China unquestioned leadership and extensive experience, and his importance to the team is evident by the fact that he logged the most minutes of any player on the Chinese team in the 2010 FIBA World Championship. In 2012, Liu may need for more time on the bench to rest, as he is too often run into the ground due to a lack of point guard depth. When healthy and rested, though, he is still one of the best guards in Asia, and as the only guard to score over 7000 points in CBA history, his resume is unquestioned. Liu’s strengths include his size, which allows him to play stifling defense, and his steady hand at the point guard position, which will be needed if China is to go far in London this year.

At age 32, this will very likely be the last time Liu suits up for Olympic basketball. As one of the key players of his generation, you can bet he’ll leave it all on the line in London this July and August as he tries to get China into the knockout stages for the third straight time.

Some fun facts about Liu: his favorite Korean drama is Full House, starring the Korean pop star Rain; his favorite drink is tea; he is married to Wang Weiting, a fellow basketball player; his biggest dream is to spend time with friends and family; and when asked of the country he wants to go to most, he emphasizes that he would want to visit all of the beautiful sights in China.

It’s Beijing, it’s summer, it’s hot. So cool down with some bubble tea (with ice), chill out and take in these afternoon links.

As we recapped yesterday, both Titan Weekly and the Chengdu Daily reported that several CBA teams have offered deals worth over $1 million a month to superstars like Dirk Nowitzki, Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade. According to the Chengdu Daily, Wade was offered $2 million a month by Zhejiang Guangsha. But, according to a source speaking with NiuBBall, Chinese reports have been exaggerated. “There’s no way any CBA team is going to fork over $2 or $3 million for one player,” said the source. “With these new rules, there’s too much risk.” Guangsha’s GM, Ye Xiangyu, publicly denied the report.

John Lucas III, who has played the last two years in Shanghai, out-gunned some dude named Kevin Durant a couple days ago at Rucker Park. Maybe most of the domestic players aren’t anything to write home to the States about, but as we’ve maintained throughout this blog’s soon-to-be one-year existence, the imports here can ball.

Taiwanese-American Jeremy Lin is considering playing in Taiwan next year, according to the China Post. Why not China, you ask? Because he has an American passport, that’s why. Taiwan passport-holding players are considered as domestic players in the CBA, but since Lin would have dual-citizenship if he were to obtain his Taiwanese passport, the would be ruled as an American import player. And though Lin can ball well enough to probably warrant a spot on a roster as an import, CBA teams traditionally do not go after young players. So with little interest in China, Lin would be smart to look at his native Taiwan.

Is Orien Greene’s move to one of the biggest markets on the planet a smart long-term move? It can’t hurt I suppose, but about “if he wins” thing… there’s simply no way that Beijing is beating Xinjiang in the first round because simply, there is no parity in CBA basketball. Xinjiang went virtually unchallenged the whole year, going 31-1 in the regular season, and is 99.999% guaranteed to sweep Beijing. If he puts up some big numbers and contains Quincy Douby, then he’ll possibly get some interest from CBA teams for next season, but being that he’s going to be back in the United States by April 1st, expecting any added off-court opportunities would be far-fetched.

According to a weibo (a Chinese tweet) from the official Shanghai Sharks feed, Shanghai head coach, Bob Donewald Jr., has announced that Shanghai will be bringing back point guard John Lucas III to the team for another season. Lucas, who played a full season under Donewald last year, was cut on January 5th by the Chicago Bulls. Lucas will replace Devin Green.

Expected at the beginning of the year to finish in the top four for the second straight year, Shanghai’s already disappointing season hit rock bottom last night when they lost their fifth straight game in a row at home to last place Fujian SBS. Sitting in 12th place with a 5-8 record at the season’s one-third mark, it had become obvious to both coaches and observers that the team’s current roster wasn’t meshing and that a change on the floor was needed to prevent an even larger mid-season hole.

After shocking the entire league last season with their meteoric rise from a team on the verge of bankruptcy to a 27-5 powerhouse, Shanghai and coach Donewald are struggling to cope with raised expectations and the loss of several key personnel. Besides Lucas, who bolted for a chance to play with the Bulls, the Sharks also lost center Garret Siler, who signed a contract in October with the Phoenix Suns. The combination of a physically dominant post player and a lightning quick guard presented the ideal situation for Donewald’s preferred small ball rotations, and Shanghai thrived as a result on speeding up the tempo and creating open looks from the three-point line.

This year, however, Shanghai has struggled to regain that success with Green and former Houston Rockets’ forward, Mike Harris. Green in particular has struggled with his outside shooting and has shown an inability to get into the lane and create off the dribble, which has been problematic for a team that relies on drive and kicks in the half-court to get offense.

But, its not just the loss of American players that is affecting the Sharks’ record. CBA rules stipulate that teams who finish in the bottom four are allowed to pick up a third “Asian import,” meaning the player must hold a passport from a FIBA recognized Asian country. Since Shanghai finished in last place in 2008-09, the team was allowed to add Jordan national team forward, Zaid Abbas, whose activeness and versatility on both sides of the floor blended in perfectly with Donewald’s high energy approach on the sidelines. However, due to Shanghai’s fourth place finish last year, the team was forced to part with Abbas, choosing to use its two import spots on Green and Harris instead. Abbas has since signed with Beijing, and has been similarly instrumental in their surprising turnaround this season.

And with the addition of another import, Beijing is hoping that turnaround can continue throghout the season and into the playoffs.

The Ducks, after playing the last six games without an import after Steve Francis left the team on December 27th, have finally decided on former 2008 Los Angeles Lakers draft pick, Joe Crawford, as its second non-Asian import. According to Net Ease Sports, Crawford is likely to arrive in the capital on Tuesday and will officially sign with the team after a workout in front of team coaches.

General manager Yuan Chao acknowledged that the presence of former Kentucky teammate, Randolph Morris, played a significant role in acquiring Crawford, saying “They played and graduated together at Kentucky, so [Crawford] has a fundamental understanding of our team.”

Crawford played in the CBA last year for Jiangsu, joining the team in March just before the post-season as a replacement to the injured Jameel Watkins. In three games, he averaged 20.7 points and 5.7 rebounds, as Jiangsu was swept in the first round by Zhejiang Guangsha.

Beijing, who at one point had won seven in a row en route to a 7-1 start, have since cooled off in the standings. At 2-4 over their last six games, the Ducks are 9-5 on the year — still extremely respectable given all the distractions of Francis’ two week stay — but, are clearly looking to stay in the discussion for a top four regular season finish and home-court advantage in the first round of the ensuing playoffs. Perhaps overly dependent on Morris down low, Crawford should provide some nice balance for the team in the backcourt.

As we near the one month mark in the CBA regular season, several teams are looking towards America to remedy a host of early season ills.

With today being the final day NBA teams can waive players with partially guaranteed contracts — no extra salary payments required — several teams in China are closely monitoring the League transaction report to find out which players are going to spend the rest of the year in the States, and which players are in need of a job.

John Lucas III, freshly waived by Chicago, is one of those players who are seriously looking to China for work.

According to a source speaking anonymously with NiuBBall.com, both Shanghai and Beijing are highly interested in bringing over Lucas, who was officially let go by the Bulls yesterday.

Lucas is fielding several offers both within America and China, but at the moment it seems that Lucas prefers a return to Shanghai above all others. Lucas played with the Sharks last year under American head coach, Bob Donewald Jr., guiding them to a 25-7 regular season record and an appearance in the semi-finals, and feels comfortable with Donewald, the city and the overall structure of the team. Also playing a factor in his decision is Shanghai owner Yao Ming, who’s massive height may only be trumped by his well-known influence on both sides of the ocean.

In his first and only season with Shanghai last season, Lucas averaged 27.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.7 assists on 48.6% shooting and 45.1% from three-point in 40 games.

Meanwhile in southern China, Guangdong, reportedly unsatisfied with the early season returns on Fred Jones, is also keeping a close watch on the NBA roster situations. Troubled by Jones’ lack of overall explosion and athleticism, Guangdong has major concerns about his ability to handle Xinjiang’s Quincy Douby defensively, who went off on both player and team for 38 points — including 18-19 from the free throw line — in Xinjiang’s Round Five win in Guangzhou. Behind the duo of Douby and former Clippers/Mavericks/Wizards’ forward James Singleton to go along with a solid supporting cast of domestic players, Xinjiang has rolled to a 9-0 start and are considered the present odds on favorite to break Guangdong’s three year championship streak.

According to the source, Guangdong is searching for a combo guard similar in ability and build to Smush Parker, who played two years with the team in 2008-09 and 2009-10 before leaving to sign with Spartak St. Petersberg in Russia.

Also influencing Guangdong’s January movement is the season ending injury to center David Harrison, who sustained a broken fibula on December 15th against Jilin. To replace Harrison, Guangdong was close to signing former 2005 lottery pick, Ike Diogu, to a rest-of-the-season deal. But, the Los Angeles Clippers stepped in at the buzzer and brought in Diogu on a tryout before eventually signing him in an effort to bolster their frontcourt.

Though Guangdong is short one import, unhappy with another and thus clearly behind Xinjiang in the CBA pecking order, the team will not rush into a deal merely for the sake of shaking things up. Though they are keeping tabs on NBA rosters, expect them to bide their time and wait for the right player to become available with a move likely to be made by the end of next week.

Beijing, short an import themselves after the short-lived Steve Francis experiment came and went, is also weighing several options as they search for a replacement. At an advantage over most teams because of their bottom four finish last year, the Ducks have been able to carry a third Asian import on the roster in addition to the league mandated two non-Asian import player limit. With former New York/Atlanta center, Randolph Morris, dominating on offense and Jordan national team forward, Zaid Abbas, taking care of the dirty work on defense, Beijing has exceeded all expectations to start the year at 7-3, despite being virtually sans Francis for the whole year.

All set up front, Beijing is looking to add a scoring guard to take pressure off off of Taiwanese point-guard, Lee Hsueh-Lin, who prefers to distribute rather than shoot.

And no stranger to foreign player turnover, Shanxi Zhongyu is also interested in acquiring a new import, with former New Orleans Hornets draft pick, Cedric Simmons, as their primary target.